Kingston Common Council approves 2013 city budget (video)

KINGSTON, N.Y. -- The Common Council has voted to adopt a $36 million city budget for 2013 that keeps the property tax levy at the current level.

Individual tax rates will rise, but Mayor Shayne Gallo has set they will be offset by declining property values in the city.

The budget approved unanimously on Tuesday was virtually the same as the one Gallo proposed in October. Gallo now is expected to sign the spending plan into law.

The budget, Gallo's first since taking office in January, calls for just over $15 million to be generated through property taxes.

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The adopted budget sets the tax rate for residential properties in the city at $7.63 per $1,000 of assessed value, an increase of 2.97 percent from the 2012 level. The 2013 tax rate for commercial properties is $14.69 per $1,000, an increase of 2.87 percent.

City Comptroller John Tuey has said the only difference between the budget Gallo proposed and the one endorsed by the council's finance committee, and ultimately approved by the full council, is a shift into the city's fund balance of some revenue and $15,200 for raises proposed by the mayor for non-union employees.

The council on Tuesday also adopted a city Sewer Department budget that calls for spending $4,924,449 in 2013, down from $4,997,000 this year. Tuey, however, has said the per-unit charge for sewer users will rise from $5.70 to $5.85.

The council also approved borrowing $392,000 for city equipment purchases.